Plumber&#39;s furnace



J. B. AND 1. v. MARTI'N.

PLUMBER LS FURNACE. APPLICATION FILED FEB 11, 1920.

1,356,960, v Patented Oct; 26,1920.

useful Improvements in Plumbers Furnaces,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES BOYD MARTIN AND JOHN VAIL MARTIN, OF NEW Y OIRK, N. Y.

PLUMBER S FURNACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 26, 1920.

Application filed February 11, 1920. SeIiaI No. 357.929.

city, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to stoves, and particularly to small portablefurnaces.

In the course of their daily work, the

members of certain trades, such as plumbers, tinsmiths, roofers,electrical workers, and the like, customarily employ small furnaces formelting various substances, or for heating tools and materials. Thefurnaces in general use, while sufficiently compact to permit them to becarried to and from the work, include a reservoir for a substantialquantity of fuel, such as gasolene or kerosene, a burner therefor, and asuperstructure for supportingthe toolsor materials. The reservoirand'burner are necessarily somewhat heavy, and when the former is filledwith fuel, furnaces of this type are a considerable burden, especiallywhen heavy tools are also carried.

Workers of such trades, however, also customarily include as part oftheir equipment a portable torch, sometimes called 'a blowtorch, a greatmany forms being well I known. .The common type of torch, however,includes a nozzle from which the-flame is laterally projected. Thesetorches hold fuel enough to permit them to burn for a considerablelength of time.

An object of our invention is to eliminate the heavy reservoir andburner of the usual furnace, and to construct the furnace which,

while retaining the requisite strength and rigidity. is relativelylight. being adapted to use the flame of an ordinary blow-torch forheating purposes, thus preventing the duplication of heating elementsinthe usual outfit carried by such mechanics.

A further obiect is to construct a portable furnace of this type whichis extremely strong and simple to manufacture, permitting it to be soldat a relatively low mace,

and facilitating the repair and renewal of in cars 17 0 the y 7preferably the various parts thereof. Another. obiect is, to simplifythe means for supporting the melting pot or other obmay either be helddirectly in the flame of the blow-torch or supported above the flame,

in accordance with the degree of heat desired. In the specific form, oneobject of our invention is to provide a construction in which the twosupports are unitary, thus greatly simplifying the construction.Speclfically, we have invented a furnace in which the supporting meansfor holding the furnace body at suitable height, for holding a containerabove the flame, and for holding such container in the flame, areintegral and contlnnous. We also have disclosed apreferred form, inwhich the main parts are constructed entirely of common sheet metal,

and are so arranged that they'ma'y be manufactured rapidly and cheaply.

Other objects and advantages ofour inyention will be apparent from thefollowmg description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a furnace, showing a common type ofblow-torch in position,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through Fig. 1, indicating the position ofa container supportedabove the flame, and

Fig. 3 is a top plan view.

The furnace includes a body portion 10 open at the top, preferablythroughoutits entire width, and which may be'provided with a bottom 11connected to'the body portion in any desired way, as by seam 12. The

body and bottom are preferably constructed of sheet metal, the specificarrangement disclosed being a common way of manufacturing cylindricalcontainers, permitting these portions of the furnace to be manufacturedcheaply and quickly by standard machinery. The body .10 is provided withan aperture 13 in one side thereof, so located and'proportioned that theflame of asuitably positioned hand-torch 14 will pass into the interiorof the body portion through the aperture. The aperture 13 is preferablyelongated vertically so as to accommodate flames from torches varyingsomewhat in height.

Suitable carrying means, such as the usual handle 15 carried by bail 16mounted ,employed to facilitate the handling of the furnace, such meanspreferably being such as to permit tools, materials, etc., to be piledup in the body of the furnace without interfering with-the handle.

rangement, the blow-torch flame is directed 1 across the body 10, asflames from torches of this type are projected with considerable force.

We provide means for suspending a suit-.

able container or article to be heated within the body portion in directline with the flame, and also provide means for holding such containeror article above the furnace body, at which point the heat will beconsiderably less. It will be apparent that this arrangement permits themelting of solder and other metals requiring a high de 'ree of heat b 7alacin them in a cong l l e tainer directly in the flame, and alsofacilitates the melting or thawing of other substances, such asparaflin, resin, insulating material, etc, which would be burned ifsubjected to the direct heat of'the flame. Furthermore, largecontainers, such as pails, may be placed across the top of the furnaceextending beyond the sides thereof, and the contents of the box heated.To accomplish these objects, we preferably extend the legs 18 upwardlyabove the top of body 10 to form a plurality of supports 20, the uppersurfaces of which are preferably on the same plane and suitablycontoured to support the desired type of container or other articlethereon.

For supporting a suitable container, such as the usual plumbers meltingpot, within the furnace body 10 in direct line with the flame, we employa plurality of inwardly projecting lugs 21 which preferably are separate from the furnace'body 10 and are mounted thereon, as by bolts 22.By suitablypositioning and proportioning lugs 21, the bottom of theusual plumbers melting pot, whenresting on the. lugs, will be close tothe line of the flame from torch 1 1, so that such flame will spreadevenly over the bottom and provide approximately even heat throughoutthe lower part of the pot. In the preferred form, lugs 21 are formedfrom a reversely bent extension of supports 20, the constructiondisclosed having the legs 18 and the connecting portion between supports20 and lugs 21 located adjacent to opposite sides of they wall of thebody 10,. and preferably held inpositi on against the wall, as by bolts22 passing through both the inner and outer legiandf support extensions,thus holding the parts in position and preventing rotation of the legsabout bolts 19. V

Legs 18*are preferably constructed from heavy strip metal, which isreadily obtain able commercially and may be bent into shape rapidly andcheaply. While this con struction provides a rigid support for thefurnace, it will be apparent that the legs, if constructed of malleablemetal, may be bent outwardly to a greater or less extent, thus varyingthe height of theaperture 13 and permitting the user of the furnace toadjust 'it rapidly to blow-torches varying somewhat in height.

. While we have described legs 18, supports 20 and lugs 21 as mounted onbody 10 by bolts, it will be apparent that a great many other methods ofmounting these parts may be employed. v

It will be apparent that in the specific form disclosed, we haveinvented a furnace composed almost entirely of sheet metal, andrequiring only five pieces of such metal to construct the furnace body,legs and convtainer supports. Moreover, the legs and supports are soconstructed that they. may be readily removed, repaired or replaced incase of any injury, without requiring tools other than those availableto the ordinary mechanic.

The construction, furthermore, is one that will withstand the mostsevere usage. Moreover, the furnace is not ony relatively light,especially compared with the usual furnace, but it also provides a readyholder for carrying tools and materials which may be piled inside thefurnace and project from the upper end thereof below handle 15 While wehave described the preferred form of our invention, itwillbe apparentthat other changes and variations may be made in the form shown, withoutdeparting from the spirit of our invention as set forth in thisspecification.

lVe claim:

1. In a portable furnace adapted to be heated by a torch, a bodyportion. adapted to receive the. flame from a torch and provided withside walls, means carriedby saidwalls for supportingv an. article,within the body portion in the flame of said torch, legs for supportingthe body portion located against the outer faceof said sidewalls,supports integral with said legs and located above the top of the bodyportion forsupporting an article above. said flame, and unitary meansfor. mounting said means for supporting an article within the body andsaidlegs upon the body. r p

2. In a portable furnace adapted to. be heated by a. torch, a bodyportion adapted toreceive the flame from a torch,a plurality of metalstrips connected to the inside of the body, an inturned lug adjacent thelower end of each strip for supporting an article in said flame, and asupport at the upper end of each strip for supporting an article abovesaid body and flame.

3. In a portable furnace adapted to be heated by a torch, a body portionadapted to receive the flame from a torch, legs for supporting said bodyportion attached to the outside thereof, supports integral with saidlegs located above said body portion for maintaining an article abovesaid body portion and flame, and supports Within the body portionintegral with said upper supports for maintaining an article in saidflame.

4:. In a portable furnace adapted to be heated by a torch, a bodyportion having an opening for the entrance of the torch flame, aplurality of metal strips connected to the body and extending down theoutside thereof past its bottom to form supporting legs, extensionsprovided on the said strips projecting above the body to form supportsfor an article above the flame, and down-bent extensions provided on thestrips projecting from the said supports inside the bodyto pointsadjacent the flame opening and having inbent lugs formed thereon forsupporting an article in the flame.

Signed at New York cit in the county of Kin s and State of New ork, this27 day of January, A. D. 1920.

JAMES BOYD MARTIN. JOHN VAIL MARTIN.

